Minnesota gun control hearings continue

Linda Winsor and Donovan Kuehl never met before Tuesday, Feb. 5, when they waited in line for seats at the first legislative hearing on a slew of Minnesota gun control bills.

Kuehl, of Willmar, says schools should have armed guards and that limiting magazine capacity would be an ineffective restriction because a shooter can reload in seconds anyway.

Winsor, of St. Paul, says gun ownership is a right, but there are limits to the right. She feels safer with fewer guns, not more.

The two are an unlikely pair on an issue that sparks debate. They even happened to sit next to each other Wednesday during the second round of hearings, continuing their conversation and building an understanding of where the other is coming from.

"I think the debate becomes so inflamed because there is fear on both sides. And mistrust. Both sides are guilty of it," Kuehl said.

The focus of Wednesday's House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee was on a bill that would ban the manufacture and possession of assault rifles except for those bought before Feb. 1, 2013, which would have to be registered.

John Egelhof, a former FBI agent who was the scene commander and case agent at the mass shooting at Minnesota's Red Lake High School in 2005 said the assault weapons and components being discussed have "not one legitimate use outside the battlefield or in the hands of a policeman."

Egelhof said it's a little-known fact that the shooter, Jeffrey Weise, tried to use an AR-15 rifle with a 30-round magazine, but the weapon jammed, and he left it behind.

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The carnage could have been worse, Egelhof said.

"Anyone can acquire a weapon that in seconds, can decimate a roomful of innocent children and dedicated teachers or turn a cinema into a slaughterhouse," he said.

"To me, who has held the bodies of dead children and teachers, and seen my friends and fellow law enforcement officers slain, it is simply a moral issue."

But gun-rights advocates say that under assault weapon bans, souped-up hunting rifles would be included as well. That includes AR-15s, which are popular among some for hunting and self-protection because they're customizable -- the stocks, triggers and grips can be changed. They also like the low recoil and accuracy.

John Footh told lawmakers about the night of July 4, 2009, when he held his bleeding 14-year-old son in his arms after a man angry about fireworks noise shot into a crowd outside Footh's brother's house on St. Paul's West Side. His son, Gunnar, survived. The student at St. Croix Lutheran in West St. Paul is applying for college and still enjoys going shooting with his dad.

As horrible as the shooting was, Footh said, it has not changed his views on guns.

"What he did was unforgivable ... but no amount of laws would have stopped this guy from making a drunken, stupid decision," Footh said. "Why would you take away from me, take away from my son, our constitutional right to bear arms?"

Gun-control supporter Winsor said she sat through seven hours of testimony over the two days to gain more understanding from the other side and make sure her opinions were well-informed.

And she found the experience sobering.

"My viewpoints haven't changed at all. In fact, they're stronger than ever," Winsor said. "The fear and paranoia, it's a different world than what I live in. And it makes me sad."

Thursday is the last of three days of hearings on nearly a dozen of bills to change Minnesota's gun laws. Four bills are on the agenda, including one that would ban high-capacity magazines. The House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee hearing will run from 10 a.m. to noon and reconvene at 6 p.m.

"My dad lived the American dream, but he died the American nightmare," said Sami Rahamim about his father Reuven Rahamim during testimony about proposed changes to gun laws in a packed room of the House Public Safety Committee in the State Office Building in St. Paul, Minn., on Tuesday, February 5, 2013. Sami's father was killed in a workplace shooting at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis in September, 2012.
(Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)